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Massive Whistleblower Leak Required Reading for Banks
By Brian Monroe
printThe release of hundreds of U.S. State Department cables as part of a massive leak of sensitive diplomatic communiqu?©s is likely to prompt bank compliance departments to tweak risk rankings. The over 200 documents published Sunday by whistleblower Web site Wikileaks.org detail U.S. diplomatic negotiations, including Iran sanctions, foreign corruption and the implementation of anti-money laundering (AML) laws. Wikileaks, which received the data from an Army intelligence analyst, plans to eventually publish 250,000 cables. Among the disclosures are December 2009 cables naming Saudi Arabian donors as the biggest monetary contributors to terrorism and criticizing Qatari authorities for failing to publicize...
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I've always found it offensive when tabloids use terms like "rat" or "squealer" to describe the actions of those who report or testify about criminal behavior. It's no less offensive when one of the terms is used in defense of attorney-client privilege.
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The disclosure that Saudi Arabia has become one of the world's largest sources of terrorist financing has raised questions about the willingness of intergovernmental groups to clamp down on nations with strong international alliances.
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A Saudi Arabian bank is challenging the United States' right to subpoena a Saudi national's financial records after the bank's regulator said that compliance with the order would violate privacy laws.
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Bank Julius Baers sued Wikileaks.org, claiming the organizations violated bank privacy laws by publishing hundreds of documents online that detail the private accounts of bank clients. The documents purportedly show evidence of money laundering and fraud through an offshore branch of the bank.